1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of cat litter boxes and, more particularly, to disposable cat litter boxes which include means for covering the box and for shielding from view cats using the litter box.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
One of the necessities of life for cat owners, especially those living in apartments, dormitories, rooming houses, and many urban townhouses and condominiums, is a cat litter box. As is well known, cat litter boxes are usually shallow boxes enabling the containing of a one or two inch layer of absorbent material called cat litter. Such cat litter material may be common sand, or may be "home made" from newspapers, paper towels, old rags, and the like. More commonly, however, commercial products (sold virtually everywhere, including supermarkets, hardware stores, drugstores, and convenience stores) are used because of the convenience, and because most commercial products combine highly absorbent materials with deodorizers.
Litter boxes vary considerably in type and cost. The most common and inexpensive types are merely shallow, usually rectangular, pasteboard or plastic containers that resemble box covers, and in many cases are just that. Without special treatment or liners, pasteboard litter boxes are usually not, however, very satisfactory even if they are of a disposable type, because they absorb waste products from the cat litter and become both weak and smelly. Plastic cat litter boxes are somewhat more practical than untreated or unlined pasteboard litter boxes; however, the cat litter must almost daily be replaced from the boxes (as well, of course, from any other type of reusable litter boxes) and they must frequently be washed to keep them clean. Neither the removal and disposal of used cat litter from cat litter boxes, nor the frequent washing of cat litter boxes is a particularly enjoyable task, especially for the squeamish. Moreover, the washing of cat litter boxes is not especially hygienic, since usually the only sink in an apartment or other small dwelling large enough to wash litter boxes in is in the kitchen sink. Otherwise, about the only other place to wash cat litter boxes (for people who do not have their own yards or patios) is the bathtub, which is also not particularly sanitary.
Another problem associated with most cat litter boxes is the mess that cats cause on the floor around litter boxes. Typically, cats like to dig and paw in litter boxes to find clean regions of litter and to cover their waste after using the litter. Even a large area litter box does little to prevent litter from being scattered out of the box onto the surrounding floor or carpet. To eliminate some of such problem, litter boxes are commonly placed on newspaper or the like, which protects the floor or carpet, but which usually do little to reduce the mess and, in fact, usually add to the messy appearance of the litter box area.
Providing a deeper litter box may reduce the amount of litter scattered outside of the box, but may, on the other hand, make the box too inconvenient for the cat to use. In such case, the inevitable result is that the animal finds other places, often such hidden and hard to find and clean places, as remote closet corners, under beds or other furniture, or piles of laundry, to perform their bodily functions. On the other hand, some less bashful and/or more anti-social cats may elect to use furniture, usually the piece which is most conspicuous, expensive and difficult to clean.
One solution to the scattered litter problem is to put a screen most of the way around the litter box. Such a screen not only confines the litter to a restricted area, but hides the litter box from view at all times, including times when a cat is using the box. The problem with screens is, however, that they cannot completely surround the litter box, for access to the box would be blocked; therefore, some litter can still be scattered out of the box. Moreover, free-standing screens can be knocked over and their effectiveness thereby eliminated.
A covered cat litter box having an entrance and exit for a cat is, for example, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,982 to J. W. Selby. While such litter box covers may be effective for the purpose intended, they are nevertheless very bulky. As a result, they take up a substantial amount of space when being shipped from the factory to wholesalers and/or retailers. In addition, such covers take up a great amount of storage space and display prior to purchase by a customer. After purchase, the disclosed type is too bulky to be easily stored in homes and is likewise difficult to dispose of.
Consequently, a need exists for an improved litter box having a built-in (or on) enclosure which does not take up any appreciable room except when it is actually being disposed for use by a household pet. It is, therefore, a principal objective of the present invention to provide such an improved cat litter box assembly having a collapsible enclosure enabling the assembly to be folded relatively flat when not in use.